Samsung ZX310 9 Series Hands On

At CES this year, Samsung debuted a couple of new laptop ranges, the ZX310 and TX100. Here we take a look at the ZX310, which is a super slim 13in model akin to the MacBook Air.

At just 16.3mm thick and 1.31kg in weight, the ZX310 is one of the slimmest and lightest (for its size) laptops in the world yet there's still plenty packed inside. There's a 13in (1,366 x 768 pixel) screen, multi-touch touchpad, a selection of low voltage Core i5/i7 processors, and an SSD drive (128GB or 256GB), while connectivity also beats Apple's MacBook Air with two USB (1x2.0, 1x3.0), HDMI, headphone/microphone, Ethernet, and even microSD included in fold out flaps.
The machine itself is built from duralumin, which is a super-tough aluminium alloy. Rather icky fingerprints aside, it looks great though it doesn't have quite the finesse of the MacBook Air. In particular the top plate of metal that covers the screen section overhangs the edge by a few millimetres, making it feel a bit tacked on.
The screen is decent, though not standout in terms of quality. In particular, its resolution, though typical for a laptop of its size, is a step below the 13in MacBook Air's 1,440 x 900 screen.
Making up for this to a reasonable degree is the backlit keyboard. A fast boot time of as little as 12 seconds also sounds agreeable as does the 9 hours battery life.
However, in our initial play, the Samsung ZX310 didn't quite seem to have the overall premium quality we might hope for and certainly no where near enough to justify its whopping MSRP of £1,399.

That said, we can't wait to get one in for a review so we can give it a proper assessment.